After three days (and nights), zero changes to Bill C-6 as it passes

The filibuster that has gripped the House of Commons for the past three days ended Saturday night with legislation to end the labor disruption at Canada Post adopted unchanged.

The legislation will move to the Senate Sunday, and postal workers could be back on the job Monday.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper claimed victory for all Canadians who have been struggling without mail delivery.

“After a completely unnecessary delay, I’m nevertheless pleased that very soon Canadians will again have access to their postal services, particularly small businesses and charities,” he said after Bill C-5 passed with a 158:113 vote in the Commons. “And, of course, this is the only thing Canadians ever really wanted.”

Harper said he is confident the Conservative bill has the public’s support – and suggested opposition members had ultimately come to that realization Saturday.

The NDP put on a brave face despite the defeat in the gruelling parliamentary showdown. The Conservatives did not budge on any of the NDP’s proposed amendments, but NDP House Leader Thomas Mulcair said the Official Opposition shot across the bow of the Conservatives to send a strong message that the rights of workers must be respected.

“We know what we had to do and Canadians know that the NDP will stand up for them, and that’s what this has been about,” he said. “Putting them on notice that they’re not going to be able to pull sleight of hand on the very last day of the session.”

Insisting the Conservatives had bargained in bad faith, Mulcair rejected suggestions the filibuster exercise was a waste of money.

“It’s extremely important for Parliament to do its job well. The detailed attention paid to the bill shone a light on a lot of the things the Conservatives were trying to do: remove pension rights, lower wages,” he said. “This is what this is about, and it’s an indication of what’s to come for other public service union workers who are unionized.”

The Conservative government’s hard-line position sends a dangerous message that it’s an “open bar” for any employer to disregard the acquired rights of its workers, Mulcair added.

NDP Leader Jack Layton did not take questions from reporters after the vote.

NDP MP Don Davies said the filibuster demonstrated what an “effective and disciplined and energetic” official opposition that will fight to improve flawed legislation.

“The government has a majority, and at the end of the day, they can push through any piece of legislation they want, and it’s our job as official opposition to slow them down sometimes and to highlight what the government is doing and bring issues to the attention of the Canadian people that the government maybe doesn’t want brought to their attention or that a swift passage would not highlight,” he said.

After hours of non-stop debate since Thursday, the break in the deadlock began to appear Saturday afternoon after the NDP unveiled amendments to the bill to change the powers given the arbitrator and the salaries proposed. But while the NDP set its filibuster aside to get the amendments adopted, the Conservatives rejected them and passed the bill intact.

While the bill at the centre of the three-day long filibuster concerns Canada Post and its union, the government faces its own negotiations in coming months with unions representing hundreds of thousands of public servants.

Conservative MPs say the government fears any precedent set in the Canada Post dispute will transfer to its own public service talks. That is why the government has been standing its ground, they explain.

The Liberals have been calling for a more pragmatic approach to get mail flowing and employees back to work but have tended to be sidelined as the debate polarized between the Conservatives and the NDP.

The move prompted Labor Minister Lisa Raitt to table legislation to end the dispute and restore postal service. However, the legislation also gives strong powers to an arbitrator appointed by the minister. Should the two sides not reach a deal, the act also outlines terms for a new collective agreement that the union says is worse than what Canada Post had already put on the table.

Unable to defeat the bill tabled by the majority Conservative government, the NDP launched a filibuster Thursday, tying up the House of Commons with non-stop debate for three days and nights. Bleary-eyed MPs from all parties were forced to stay close to the House.

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, the sole member of her party in the House of Commons, logged more hours than any other MP, with only three hours of sleep in the past three days.

Shortly after 5 p.m. Saturday the bill passed another key step – the vote on second reading. As the bells tolled through the near empty corridors of Parliament beckoning MPs back to the House for the vote, the public gallery filled with spectators.

There was a cheer and an ovation from MPs as the party whips arrived — recognition for their efforts during the past couple of days.

The Conservative benches were the first to fill, though only a handful of Liberals appeared. Labour Minister Lisa Raitt received a standing ovation and cheers from the Conservative caucus as she took her seat in the House.

In a letter to Jack Layton released prior to the vote, CUPW praised the NDP leader for his work in opposition to Bill C-6. The union thanked the party for inspiring a return to negotiations, but noted that talks this morning went nowhere. “Your actions, which were successful in provoking a resumption of negotiations, demonstrate the
importance of a strong progressive opposition,” CUPW president Denis Lemelin wrote.

“We remain committed to work with you and the members of your caucus in the broader struggle for decent jobs for ourselves and for future generations of workers.”